After President Erdogan And Putin's Meeting In Sochi, Turkey Affirms Preparedness To Mediate The Russian-Ukraine Armistice

President Zelensky received a presentation from the commander of the Ukrainian troops on the front lines. (Source: President.gov.ua)

JAKARTA - The Ankara government has confirmed its readiness to actively facilitate the process of achieving a ceasefire agreement between parties in Ukraine, the Turkish Ministry of Defense said.

"We are closely monitoring the events that occurred between Russia and Ukraine, which seriously threaten the security of our region and the rest of the world," the Hurriyet newspaper quoted the ministry as saying, as reported by TASS September 8.

"We affirm our readiness to play an active and helpful role in ensuring a stable ceasefire and peace, as well as providing comprehensive support in easing the humanitarian crisis," the ministry continued.

The Ministry of Defense reiterated that Turkey maintains interaction with Russia, Ukraine and the United Nations in expanding the Black Sea Grain Initiative.

"We hope that after the meeting (between Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Russian President Vladimir Putin in Sochi on September 4), positive steps will be taken to continue this initiative, which contributed greatly to global food price stabilization and proved that all crises can be resolved with good intentions and dialogue," the ministry said in a statement.

It is known that the Black Sea seed agreement will no longer apply on July 17. After several extensions since the start of the seed agreement in July 2022 to extend Istanbul's agreement to provide a safe route for ships carrying Ukrainian grains and to unblock Russian agricultural exports.

Moscow declined to agree to a further extension, reaffirming that the terms of the agreement related to Russia were never actually implemented. Earlier, speaking at a press conference in Sochi on September 4 after its talks with President Erdogan, Putin said Moscow would be ready to return to the wheat deal within days, after provisions allowing Russian agricultural exports were met.